Jaune Arc: The Prototype
by Genesis.Rising.exe
Summary: Jaune Arc was a normal child from a Hunter family, He'd always wanted to be a huntsman when he was older, but before he can get training in. He was captured and experimented upon by Dr Merlot, Who was intending to create the 'Perfect' Human, the Human 2.0, The Next Upgrade. Sadly all he was able to create was the powers Jaune now wields. Jaune has quickly become the 'Prototype'
1. Prologue Awakening

**Jaune Arc: The Prototype**

 **So, there's a few things I feel the need to point out before I begin this Fic;**

 **Updates – Updates to this fic maybe few and far between, If I'm not happy with the quality of a chapter I will not post it until I feel it's of a sufficient standard. I'm not going to be updating to a schedule either, it'll eat up a lot of time and stifle my muse.**

 **Pairings/Lemons – I may offer chances to be heard at the end of a chapter, If it's a competition for example. Lemons will ***Not*** be covered, I may cover the build up scene (Limes) and the aftermath of an encounter… but the actual event will likely not be covered.**

 **Bashing – I don't intend to bash** _ **ANY**_ **character in RWBY, there'll be characters that are represented poorly due to their behaviour, such as Cardin and Weiss in Volume 1 or Raven in Volume 4-5. This isn't out of any irrational hatred I have of the characters, It's the way they've behaved that makes me write them in a certain way.**

 **Following the Cannon – Naturally due the combination of RWBY and Prototype this will obviously be an AU, I'll try and keep characters accurate to…their character, but some will change naturally as part of the story (Cardin and Weiss will redeem themselves for example) because I personally believe that characters who adapt and develop are more interesting than generic Volume 1 Cardin all the way through.**

 **Villains – Many of the Villains in RWBY will behave in a manner that** _ **I**_ **have judged to be accurate to the character. Tyrian will still be the insane sociopath, but he may not display that 24/7. Mercury and Emerald may be doggedly loyal to Cinder, but they'll still have scenes that show frustration with Cinder's Plan, ETC. The only Villains I intend to change from the cannon at this moment, is Cinder because she doesn't have much of a personality beyond 'Nefariously Smug' and 'Condescendingly Smug'. This one may put you off, depending on how much of a Stickler you are, Dr Merlot. In RWBY Grimm Eclipse, Dr Merlot wanted to alter the genetic makeup of the Grimm to make them 'Perfect' or to put it bluntly 'Grimm 2.0'. In this Fic, his research will be in a similar vein, but It'll focus on Humans and The Faunus. He'll still do horrible things, but in his own mind those things will be a means to a 'perfected' humanity/Faunus kind.**

 **Well. That got longer than I thought It'd be, feel free to leave a Review/Criticism or Suggestions. I only ask that you don't post something along the lines of 'Fic Sucks, TLDR'. That doesn't help, it just annoys me. If something doesn't work, please tell me** _ **WHY**_ **. Once I'm aware of a fault in my writing I can correct it. Anyways, Here's the First Chapter!**

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A young boy, laying and resting on a medical gurney was violently jerked awake by the noises of explosions and alarms blaring across the facility. The Young Boy sluggishly pulled himself up off the gurney, his entire body ached, and his chest hurt. It wasn't a blinding agony, but a constant reminder that something had happened to him. As he looked around the medical office he found a near sparkling operation theatre, tools were pristine and cleaned vigorously, the walls were spotless, even the gurney he'd been laid upon was near pristine the moment he'd stopped looking around and started to stand he was addressed directly by the loudspeaker by a familiar voice, it was Dr Merlot 'Jaune! You're awake, excellent! The Facility is under attack by Grimm, they've rallied in far greater numbers than expected, My Security Forces are engaging them but there are too many for the Androids to stop all of them. You must flee this facility, there's a pre-programmed fighter jet in hangar 14 that'll take you somewhere safe! The other children have already escaped. When you land and exit the fighter, wait for someone to come and speak with you. When they do Ask for a man named ' **Ozpin** ' that's O-Z-P-I-N. He'll take care of you. You are the pinnacle of my life's work and research, do not die here boy!'

I

Jaune was stunned, both figuratively and literally. Merlot had helped the other children escape? He'd never shown any feelings for them before… claiming they were an inferior specimen to himself. At the time Jaune had considered that a blessing, not for himself of course but for the others. It meant they didn't have to suffer the endless appointments, operations and check-ups. Jaune was only a child of 10 and naturally had a fierce hatred of hospitals, doctors and needles. As Jaune recovered he spotted a clothing wardrobe and looked inside, knowing that Merlot's collection of clothing for his specimens might be inside. He found quite a lot of clothing but knowing that time was short, he picked out a pair of Jeans that were ever so slightly too long in the leg, a pair of black and white sneakers and a hilariously oversized brown hoodie with a rabbit on it, said hoodie once he put it on flowed down nearly to half way to his kneecap and his sleeves had to be rolled up several times before he could move properly.

I

Jaune was particularly intelligent for his age, but that was not any personal talent or great intellect. Dr Merlot had taught him and as far as he knew, all his specimens a rudimentary education… for a 17-year-old. This was not out of kindness or sentimentality, but a strict necessity as he often claimed. The Experiments he was performing would give the specimen a great amount of power if successful, A 10-year-old could not possibly be trusted with such power, thus the need for an education, morals, restraint, emotional control. For Jaune the 'experiments' were nearly always a success but had unintended side-effects, as a result his entire body could be manipulated with enough willpower. He had no need of a weapon, his body with a thought, could _**become**_ a weapon.

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Jaune's body was also stronger, faster and sturdier than a normal human by a massive magnitude. He could still be hurt by slashing or piercing weapons… blunt weapons were quite ineffective however. Dr Merlot had been quite thorough pounding that into his head, that the 10-year-old was not invincible and could be hurt still. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, his blonde hair flailing wildly. It had gotten pretty long over the course of his captivity. _**Captivity.**_ With how he was treated, he'd forgotten that's what it actually was, he'd been kidnapped from Kaer Maga nearly 3 years ago now. He exited the room into a small foyer-like room, the upholstering formerly a lovely shade of crimson was slashed and torn by something with sharp claws and parts had been chewed on. Beowulf's then… great. With only one exit to the former waiting room, Jaune followed the railing to the door and pushed through to a large open area nearly 20 metres wide and long with a large steep hill in the centre, He was nearly blinded stepping into the sun and snow, simultaneously he was frozen and warmed by the snow's icy grip but having not seen the sun in quite some time, he was happy to stand in its rays for a few moments. There were evaporating Grimm Corpses and 3 crushed androids in the room, clearly the security forces were winning this little battle…for now. As he traversed directly across the room, he noted as he travelled that the rotting Grimm were nearly entirely lower level Beowolves, Ursai and Creeps.

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He had to move quickly if he wanted to escape before the Alpha's and Major's appeared. As strong as his body was, trying to fight those was begging for death. Some Hunters-In-Training couldn't handle the Major or Alpha class Grimm, what chance did he have? Even as strong as he was it was a fight he couldn't win. Jaune progressed through a similarly ravaged foyer before he found a large open room… containing a singular Grimm, It was a large room full of shipping containers and forklifts. The Grimm a Beowolf if he was right was sniffing at one of the containers, pawing at it trying to get inside to reveal the insides. It was wolf-like creature, with the Black and Red colour scheme of all Grimm with a distinctive white mask covering it's face and a pair of bone white spikes sticking out of it's back. A 2-year-old Beowolf… he could handle that… maybe.

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Jaune was considering his options, the Grimm hadn't seen him yet and was distracted he could easily get around it and escape _**Or**_ He could fight it and attempt to kill it, it was one fewer Grimm attacking the facility and it couldn't follow him if he was noticed in his sneaking attempt. The Idea of getting sandwiched between this Beowolf and whatever laid ahead was a horrifying thought, especially if it was one of the more lethal Grimm variants, like the Deathstalker or the Nevermore. He huddled behind a crate close to the entrance of the room as he willed his arm to form a sword, unfortunately he wasn't good at controlling it yet and It took nearly 30 seconds for his arms to change. His arm first turned a nearly pitch black and it took on a consistency like oil as his flesh warped and accommodated his desire, Starting at his elbow his right hand became a large blade that looked like something out of a Slasher film, It was horribly nicked near the base of the blade wouldn't possibly function if made of metal, as it got very thin for a small period before thickening to a full great swords length, the actual blade of the sword was ever so slightly curved upwards. He let out a quiet sigh as the transformation completed, it took a lot of concentration to use his ability on purpose and was far too slow to be used effectively in combat. Something Dr Merlot had drummed into his head repeatedly and had often given Jaune exercises to improve his talent with the ability.

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As he peeked over the crate he was huddling behind, he saw that the Beowolf was still pawing at the crate, good. As he started creeping forward quietly he heard a quiet whimper from the crate the Beowolf was pawing. The Beowolf heard it too and howled, aggressively slashing at the crate, it's claws unable to penetrate but doing clear damage to the crate. Jaune gave up on any attempt at sneaking and rushed forward in a furious if sloppy charge. The Beowolf had just enough time to turn and snarl before it was impaled on Jaune's now Sword-Arm. It let out a pained howl as he ripped the blade over his head and flung the Beowolf behind him. As the Beowolf landed and rolled to it's feet it snarled viciously at it's new target, blood and drool leaking from it's mouth. To Jaune this was an indication that the Beowolf had already killed someone in this facility. Taking a defensive stance with his Blade Arm in front of him, he gestured for the Grimm to come at him with his other hand, curling his fingers towards himself twice before bracing for the inevitable charge. The Beowolf while having the instincts to use pack tactics wasn't a fairly intelligent type of Grimm, they were essentially the 'Cannon Fodder' of the Grimm species. Lacking the intelligence to realise what Jaune was doing, The Grimm charged him in vicious leap. It was faster than Jaune had thought and his brace against its charge quickly devolved to the two rolling around on the floor, each attempting to kill the other. The Beowolf would normally have a huge advantage in such a scenario found itself evenly matched with the adolescent Jaune.

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The Beowolf's claws while sharp, couldn't properly penetrate Jaune's skin. Its jaw had a much easier time, but it had only gotten one good bite in before Jaune's non-sword arm had grabbed it by the throat and was brutally crushing its throat. His Sword-Arm was pinned by the Beowolf's Own paw, the beast knowing to pin its prey before consuming it. The Beowolf was still trying to claw at Jaune with it's free paw, but was unable to truly do anything. If anything, it felt like a stubbed toe to Jaune. Annoying, moderately uncomfortable but nothing paralyzing or incapacitating. It wasn't long before the Beowolf started to die from lack of air, as it grew weaker it couldn't restrain Jaune's Sword-Arm and was subsequently butchered by the hasty swing. As Jaune watched it die he realized that slashing was much better against a Beowolf than Piercing… at least at his current strength. Panting as he stood up he knocked on the crate said 'It's okay, you can come out now. It's safe'. After a few moments the crate opened and out crawled a younger girl. He recognized her, she was a recent acquisition by Merlot… a new subject for his enhancement process. 'May' if he recalled correctly. 'You're May Right?' at the girl's hesitant nod, he smiled and said 'I'm Jaune, we have to get to Hangar 14, there's a fighter in there that'll send us someplace safe, do you understand?' he said kindly but quickly. At the girls more, confidant nod he smiled and took her hand leading her out of the room. It seemed that once they were out of a life or death situation, the girl became quite chatty. Asking him all sorts of questions, about his abilities, his old life, his favourite colour… He found the enthusiasm refreshing if nothing else. She was still afraid he knew, every now and again her shoulders would shake, or her voice would crack. But she was trying to put on a brave face. There were a few more Beowolfs on the way, but Jaune could handle them a lot better now that he knew that cutting them in half was a lot better than trying to impale them.

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They were still difficult opponents but because he was only fighting them one on one or in pairs, his first slash usually could kill one of them and then he kept cutting until the other died. It kept May safe because they were focusing on the more dangerous threat. May hadn't freaked out about his ability because of the simple reason that Merlot had forced them to interact and build 'social bonds' as he called them. Apparently, they were important for human development, most of the children hadn't been interested with being his friend at first, but they inevitably were forced to interact with him. Team building exercises were a favourite of Merlot's to force them to work together or fail a certain task, failure often meant the retraction of any privileges he'd granted them. So, when faced with the Carrot or the Stick, children often took the carrot.

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It was insidious almost, how easily he manipulated the children by giving them things he wanted if they behaved; Chocolate, Soda, Video Games, even Movies if they behaved. It was an Idyllic life for a child, they got whatever they wanted in life if they behaved and as long as they kept up that behaviour they were rewarded and were allowed to keep the privileges. On some small level Jaune believed that Dr Merlot had become accustomed to keeping the children happy, or at least keeping them quiet. He wasn't going to say that Merlot 'liked' the children, Merlot was far too logical for that. Merlot saw cause and effect, he pacified the children by giving them sweets and toys and entertainment and the effect was they were obedient for a certain duration. It also culled any thought of rebellion the children may have had, the point of view of a child was often too focused on the 'now' rather than the past or future. The 'Now' was that 'The Old Doctor Man' was giving them candy and games if they did what he said. They'd been travelling for nearly an hour and the Hangar was very close, It was a scant 4 rooms away and they hadn't run into any Grimm for quite a while. He wasn't sure if that was a blessing or a curse as he turned a corner and viewed the hallway and the Hangar at the very end he realized it was a curse, a very large curse. The hallway was packed with Grimm… not just Beowolfs either, Creepers; little lizard-like Grimm that swarmed relentlessly but weren't much of a problem in small numbers, a barely trained novice could handle a single creep. This was not a single creep; the Carpet was nearly entirely Creepers.

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Towering over them however were bulky Ursai, Incredibly Bulky and with strength to match their size they were the size of a small car and even an adolescent Ursa could be deadly if underestimated. These were not Adolescent Ursa, these were full grown and if their snarling was anything to go by, they were furious. Mixed in were a few Beowolf's of the type that Jaune had dispatched every now and again as they made their way here. He couldn't fight through this… He was strong and sturdy… if he avoided the Ursai… could he make it? The Grimm hadn't noticed anything yet, they were busy trying to push forward into the Hangar, a barrage of bullets from a pair of heavily armed Androids killing the Grimm stupid enough to enter the room. Making a possibly life-threatening decision, Jaune pushed May back around the corner and held a finger against his lips. As the Girl nodded, Jaunes Sword Arm started to return to normal as he willed his body to harden, to become as tough as physically possible. His body obliged his commands, as the thick oily substance covered everything from head to toe in an insect like carapace with an angled blank slate representing his head. Despite not having eyes, which was weird in of itself, Jaune found he could still see. It was a weird kind of vision though, everything was either Blue or Red but he could still make out shapes, May for example was a bright red, but the walls around her were blue but he could still recognize the upholstery and see where there were gaps in the walls for windows… It was weird, he decided.

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Jaune was brought of his thoughts by May poking him where his cheek should be, startled he turned to face her and she tilted her head towards the hallway, He nodded. The Pair didn't want to speak in case the Grimm heard him and attacked, He gestured for a piggyback to May and clambered onto his back, her arms around his neck and her legs being held by him. His Idea was essentially that he would charge as fast and as hard as possible using as much strength as he could muster and go through the Grimm, shoulder checking any of the bigger ones out of the way, hopefully staggering them with the impact so they couldn't retaliate. He counted down with his fingers for May's benefit. Dropping a Finger. 3. He took a deep breath as he realized that this would either succeed or get them both killed, there was no time for panic. Panic fuelled negative emotions and would only draw the Grimm. Another Finger, 2.

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He wondered that if- When he succeeded would this 'Ozpin' return him to his family? Or would he be kept in a different facility? Another Finger. 1. It didn't really matter, if this Ozpin tried to stop him from going home… He'd fight his way out. Merlot had done a fantastic job of keeping Jaune placated and stopped him from thinking of his family with distractions. But this 'Ozpin' was in for a rude awakening if he thought that Jaune would just roll over like a frightened child and allow the Adults to make the decisions. He was going home, and if anyone tried to stop him, he'd beat them half to death and go _**through**_ them. No one was stopping him from seeing his sisters again, his parents again. It was this thought that fuelled Jaune as he charged down the corridor. It was funny, just how quickly the Grimm were tossed aside. He was ploughing through the Creepers with no resistance at all, they were flung into walls via his charge and stunned.

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He hit the line of Beowolves and kept going, letting his emotions fuel his actions as he slammed through Beowolf after Beowolf, they were providing minimal resistance, but it was enough to hamper Jaune just a little as impact after impact took their toll, with the Corridor behind him in disarray and in varying states of stunned and prone, Jaune hit the Ursai line. The Ursai Line was resistant to his efforts and may have been able to stop him, had he not been running the full length of the corridor as he charged through them. His body knocked the Ursai aside, but it was by no means easy, he managed to jump through the heavenly opening of the corridor and past the Machines manning the heavy guns. As soon as the Young Boy was clear, The Mechanical Whir of the guns started up again and a relentless volley was unleashed on the Grimm again. Howls of frustration and anger echoed down from the hallway. Hangar 14 was surprisingly small for a hangar, it had space for maybe two or three fighters or a pair of bullheads next to one another. A Single heavily modified sleek matte black fighter was sat their waiting for them. The cockpit waiting open and a heavily modified interior that had a regular seat but most of the options inside for flying such a fighter was replaced with a single touch screen with several options on it.

'- Beacon Academy (Ozpin)'

'- Atlas Academy (Ironwood)'

'- Haven Academy (Lionheart)'

'- REDACTED (REDACTED)'

Remembering who Dr Merlot had told him to find, Jaune placed May gently in the other seat, which possessed no options at all, it was effectively just a seat. He clambered into his own position and selected 'Beacon Academy (Ozpin)' Almost immediately a synthesized voice spoke inside the cockpit. 'Destination Set, please keep all limbs within the cockpit as it closes and rest from your experience as you travel to your destination. Cockpit closing in 10. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1.' At the count of '2' the Grimm who had been held back from by the Bots swarmed forward as the Robot Android's Miniguns nearly in unison clicked empty. Still, the bulky androids swarmed forward to meet the tide of Grimm and exploded. Knocking most of the charging Grimm off their paws and vaporising the front line of Ursai. Near instantly as the cockpit closed the Fighter shot off, the backdraft from the Fighter catching a few of the faster Grimm with the backdraft from the engines. As they took off from the Hangar, Jaune saw that the Hangar and thus, the rest of the compound was built into part of a mountain.

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It was funny in a way. From his position in the Fighter Jet the world below looked so small, even the swarming Grimm looked like ants as they shot away at high speeds from his home of 3 years. He wondered how long It'd be till they arrived… He didn't recognize the geography, so he probably wasn't in Anima anymore. It wasn't cold enough for Atlas despite the snow… It certainly didn't look like Menagerie… As he turned at looked at May, he found that the girl had fallen asleep. Taking the robotic voice's advice… huh. Sleep sounded nice right now… But by the same token, he needed to be conscious until they arrived at 'Beacon Academy'. So, he focused on the countryside as they flew, despite his intellect, he'd never seen these kinds of sights before. There'd been a momentary feeling of nausea, but it had passed after a little while.

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There were great forests of Red with bark black as wood and even the ground was red. It was beautiful yet for a reason he couldn't quite put his finger on it felt…sad. There was a truly massive expanse of sea, a never-ending pool of blue that stretched literally to the horizon and further beyond and a mountain range with massive peaks. As they travelled over the ocean, the cockpit's touchscreen changed and seemed to be showing the ground below, highlighting and focusing on anything it found interesting. It highlighted aquatic Grimm of massive size and girth that they could snap up entire boats. It highlighted Landmarks as well, a great statue standing on a small island of a man holding a sword aloft. It showed so much more as well. It was barely 2 hours into their long Journey when Jaune lost the battle against sleep. Falling into a deep slumber from exhaustion, strong as he was his body burned through energy quickly at his young age and his ability only drained him faster.

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His body required a larger amount of food than normal, on average he'd need an Adults portion of food to function throughout the day if he used his ability. As he grew this requirement would surely increase as he used the ability more and more. As Jaune slept, he remembered his old home of Kaer Maga, a Large if rustic manor home in a large-ish village. His father was the leading hunter of the village while his mother had become the mayor when Jaune was 5 years old, by then his Older Sisters had taken to raising Jaune and looking after him. It had left him somewhat stunted in some areas, but it was a happy childhood. He had seven sisters, All named after rare gems and jewellery. The first set of Twins Alexandrite and Morganite which everyone called Alex and Morgan, Amethyst, Garnet, Jade, The second set of twins Turquoise and Topaz. His cute adorable little sisters, all of them were blondes, just like him. Both parents were blonde, so it made sense. Funnily enough, both sets of twins had Green Eyes like his mother and Amethyst, Garnet and Jade had Blue eyes just like him and his father, His Father was a giant of a man or he had been the last time Jaune saw him, a Blonde haired man that was scraping just under 6'6 with an incredibly bulky form that made him look effectively like a refrigerator with arms and legs, when hunting he wore what was effectively heavy armour and wielded a great sword the that ran the length of his entire body before ending in a hilt at his shoulders with the hilt being half again the height between his shoulders and head.

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His mother was a beautiful young woman, reed thin with green eyes and long blonde hair, not physically imposing but with incredible dexterity she was much faster than her husband and while not a huntress, had learned to defend herself with a variety of martial arts before moving into politics to keep the people of Kaer Maga safe. His dream was…troubling, to say the least. It started off fine… He was greeted by a nameless faceless person who shipped him back to Kaer Maga, He could feel his nerves fraying with each moment he spent away from them, his family. When he arrived off the dust plane, he made his way up to his family's home and was greeted by… no one. His family wasn't home. The home itself was empty and the door was locked… looking through the windows only showed dust, and decay. No one had lived in the home for months at least… possibly even years. As he broke into the home he roamed through the halls… until he found his fathers study. There were hundreds of newspaper clippings, each one covering his disappearance and subsequent search. As he rifled through the newspaper clippings showed that the search had been called off after a week. That his family had simply… moved on. His Sister Jade was given the 'heiress' position and he was forgotten about. He'd had a 'ceremonial' tombstone in the local cemetery and even then, the nightmare wasn't done. He heard his parents voices… 'Sometimes Honey, I feel like somethings missing… did you ever want a boy?' He heard his mother ask, His fathers reply was cold and callous, a tone Jaune would have never thought to associate with his father. 'with all the running around we have to do for the girls? Oum, No. A Boy would be far too much effort.' The words hurt. All through his mind he heard those words ringing… 'What If they've forgotten me?' the same question over and over. This wasn't an enemy he could fight, this was his own mind making a point… because it was a possibility. How do you fight the nightmares in your head? The niggling doubts that loiter in your mind and drag you down? Jaune for all his strength… was still a child, he may be more powerful, he may be more intelligent. But he still had some small semblance of naivety and unfortunately it was to his detriment at this moment.

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He was jarred rudely and suddenly from his nightmare by May shaking his shoulder from the cockpit, when he looked at her, bleary eyed and tired. She pointed ahead of him and he saw what Beacon Academy was presumably, a great tall tower standing in the centre of several buildings, beautifully made and truly a piece of architecture to be remembered. The Fighter Jet was slowing and landing. The Jarring impact of hitting the ground nearly threw Jaune face first into the touchscreen. A Man was waiting for them on the ground with surprising calm. He had short silver hair, a cane in his left hand and spectacles on his face. He looked curious but stern… Ozpin.

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 **Now! It's time for the Author's Notes and Such! How Exciting!** **I have no idea how popular this Fanfic will be. But I'm hoping there's at least** _ **Some**_ **Interest in it. Anyways.**

 **Challenge #1 – 'Kaer Maga' is not a unique thing, if someone who reads the fic can tell me via review or a PM what it's from then the FIRST person who submits an answer can** _ **RECOMMEND**_ **a ship for me to try an incorporate into this Fanfic. Keep in mind if you vote for something ridiculous like Enabler I'll likely ignore it and go to the runner up. Somethings I'm just not comfortable writing about, ya know?**

 **I'm hoping each chapter'll be about 4500 words give or take. Maybe longer in some cases, maybe shorter in others. Anyway, If you have any suggestions for the fic or an idea you want to pitch, by all means make a review or PM me. Lord knows I'll read them, I may not incorporate them, but I'll read them.**


	2. Reconciliation

**So! Some people didn't figure out that 'May' from the prior chapter was 'May Zedong' and not an OC. An easy mistake to make, but It felt better using a minor character than someone more important like Emerald or Ruby you know? Because I kind of get tired of Fic's were the Protagonist meets a super important character in the Prologue… It feels kind of cheesy after the 70** **th** **Fic where Jaune has connections to all of team RWBY beforehand or was Cinder's BFF or saved Emerald from a life of Crime.**

 **The Previous Chapter's Competition? Question? Meh. The Correct answer was 'Kaer Maga is from a table top RPG called Pathfinder, more specifically Curse of The Crimson Throne' A great Adventure Path, I recommend it! So the Pairing Idea's I received are interesting in their own ways and I'm going to consider it. Fair Warning, I'm a pretty huge Arkos Fan so It may not come through, I might play around with them though.**

 **Now, as a few people have mentioned in the prior reviews, the prior chapter had too many 'walls of text' and I'll try to trim down each paragraph to be shorter! Thanks for your Reviews and Enjoy the next chapter!**

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 **So, as a Side Note, I've Figured out that Fanfiction .Net despises the idea of using the 'Enter' Key as a paragraph and eats all of your Enter Inputs. Fucking Fantastic decision, I definitely didn't immediately reconsider putting this story on here and throwing it somewhere else that allows fucking paragraph spacing.**

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"Ozpin, this is Insane!" Came the voice of the Deputy Headmistress, Glynda Goodwitch as she looked over the results of a medical exam concerning one Jaune Arc. Glynda Goodwitch, she was blonde haired woman in her late twenties. She wore her standard teaching attire, a white pleated top and a high waisted black pencil skirt, finishing off the ensemble was a bi-coloured cape, Black on the outside, Purple on the inside.

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She continued as her voice got more and more incredulous "Increased Bone Density, Increased Muscle Density, Increased Cardiovascular Efficiency, Increased Endocrinal Efficiency And this just scratches the surface! That was a basic scan! What did Merlot do to that boy!?" Her voice carried only a tinge of hysteria as she finished her rant.

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"Glynda please try to stay calm, The Students look up to you and if one of our most prominent huntresses starts panicking it could lead to campus wide panic. Truthfully, only one man alive knows the full extent of the modifications done to Jaune Arc. However, I have a theory" Ozpin replied, A Middle-aged man with silver hair as he drank from his mug. Wearing a Black Suit, Dark Green pants and dress shoes, a green cowl around his neck and his weapon of choice, his Cane in his off hand.

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"Dr Merlot was driven like very few men I've ever known, he was obsessed with the idea of 'Perfection' he believed Humanity to be flawed in some integral way and sought to rectify that flaw. He started his experiments on the Grimm, but with the fall of Mountain Glenn. He like so many others, was considered dead in the ensuing chaos. It is likely that the kidnapping and then experimentation of Jaune Arc was to further this goal of the 'Perfect Human'… and it seems he succeeded." Ozpin finished eyeing Jaune Arc through a one-way mirror as the boy underwent medical tests.

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"Revulsion for the man aside, what are we going to do with Jaune headmaster?" Glynda replied as she surveyed the young man's upper body, thoroughly disgusted by the myriad of scars she found. A scar over his right eye that started at his forehead stretched down to his cheek. Numerous dot shaped scars on his arms where _Something_ had been Injected into the poor boy, it only got worse as his control of his… _Ability_ waned for a moment and the flesh of his upper body seemed to roll in a twisted parody of a wave.

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"Send him home of course, just as we did to young May Zedong. Though he'll have to complete the medical exams first, His parents at the very least, should get a comprehensive overview of what has happened." Ozpin finished as he noticed the Young Lad's eyes flicker to the one-way mirror. How devious. As soon as Ozpin had mentioned his parents the young boy broke his cover… Glynda missed it, so did the medical team in the room with him. But if Ozpin hadn't known that Jaune couldn't see him… He'd say Jaune had looked right at him.

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"Enhanced Senses to a varying degree, as well." Ozpin noted and watched as the boys mouth twitch ever so slightly and curved up into a smile. Before Jaune's eyes flicked between Ozpin himself, Glynda each of the medical staff and if he had to bet, the four Hunters and Huntresses guarding the door, unless the Drywall was a considerable threat.

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"He can hear every word we're saying Glynda" Ozpin said, quite calmly taking no small amount of pleasure in watching his deputy's head flick between the boy and Ozpin himself.

I

" **Have you motived the scientist to comply yet, Watts?"** A Cold Imperious voice spoke, not loudly but the sheer authority it held was enough to cow even the most resilient of Huntsmen. The Grimm she was speaking through hovered nearly five feet off the ground and had a small globular head, it supported itself by 8 tentacles that each had a wicked barb at the end.

I

Watts, a rather well-dressed and stylish man, with brown hair and a well-kept moustache was kneeling before the Grimm, head bowed in submission to his Mistress. "Merlot has proven…Resistant to our efforts my lady, Hazel and I have recently introduced him to Tyrian. The two seem to get on rather well. In other news, Hazel has found a suitable candidate from Atlas. A young girl who was treated like a slave by her family-"

I

" **Enough Watts Are her Genes compatible with the Doctor's Experiments?"** It wasn't really a question but a demand for confirmation before her patience ran out. The crimson eyes he could make out through the Grimm's abilities were narrowed in irritation.

I

"Yes, my lady, I'd have not brought it up otherwise" Watts replied dutifully and submissively, awaiting any further demands from his mistress. He didn't enjoy submitting to others, but when confronted with a literal force of nature, an undisputable _fact_ of Remnant… he had no choice but to submit.

I

" **Good. How are you progressing with subverting Lionheart?"** Those lethal eyes relaxed slightly, and the voice was a great deal calmer.

I

Watts felt a cold chill go down his spine, Lionheart had put up staunch resistance to everyone in their little group. "Unfortunately, Lionheart has proven resistant to our efforts. Even Tyrian's visits haven't made him waver. I fear you may need to intervene."

I

An Irritated Sigh was his response as that voice replied **"It's too much of a risk to reveal myself at this stage… Keep working on your Assignments. I need to consider our options carefully"**

I

Watts dutifully nodded his head and kept his head bowed as the Grimm left. Before standing, dusting himself off and getting back to work, maybe if the _three_ of them visited Lionheart he'd more receptive… he'd always been a coward, though he wasn't acting like it right now.

I

"Ozpin, It's three in the Oum-damned morning. **. ?** " A Deep voice Snarled down the scroll. This was Galahad Arc, Jaune's Father. Named after one of his ancient ancestors who fought with the Original Crocea Mors. Galahad was huge physically, standing at terrifying 6'6 with more muscle than a damned Ursa and a mane of long blonde hair that flowed just past his shoulders at the back and cropped somewhat shorter at the sides he'd earned the nickname 'Lion of Mistral'.

I

Galahad was currently in shorts and a T-shirt because he'd sleeping before his _**Oum Damned Scroll Went Off.**_ He was sitting in his Study, dozens of training manuals and Arc family journals littered the Bookshelf a dozen of photographs of his family pinned to the board behind his Desktop PC. Ozpin and Galahad were often in communication since Jaune's disappearance, The Other headmasters had all but given up the search, but Ozpin hadn't. In the Valean huntsman corp. there had been a standing bounty for the return of Jaune Arc starting at £1000 ( **AN: I'll be substituting the Pound Symbol for Lien, just because it's easier** ) for information about his whereabouts up to £5000 for his direct rescue and return.

I

"Galahad, we've found him" was Ozpin's firm but quiet reply. The Elder Arc froze scarcely believing his ears. His emotions racing the gambit of Shock, Happiness, Anger, Elation… It had been three years, but his son had been found and would be coming home. He couldn't put into words just how happy he was. The other villagers of Kaer Maga had acted like Jaune had been dead a year into the search, but he'd been adamantly against having a Tombstone placed. To him, it would have been giving up on his Son, on his family.

I

"Where is he Ozpin?" Galahad replied, suddenly feeling as if his mouth was dry and his heart would jump into his throat. His mind was already making plans, taking his vacation days, booking a Bullhead and suffering the Motion Sickness, naturally bringing his Huntsman weapon with him _Just in Case_.

I

"He's sitting in the Beacon Infirmary being looked over by our medical team." Galahad heard an almost resigned sigh as Ozpin continued "Galahad, He's been experimented on to create a new stage of human evolution" Galahad froze, how could he not… his Son, his pride and joy who was going to follow in his footsteps had been _**Experimented On.**_ Hands shaking Galahad only growled out a single word. But it carried enough sheer hate in it to surprise Ozpin.

I

" _ **Who**_ "

I

"As of yet, we don't know. The more important thing however" Ozpin chided, clearly annoyed at how Galahad was focusing on his enemy instead of his son, when he should be ecstatic he has his son back at all. "Is that the experimentation has done no damage at all to young Jaune and from what we've seen, were complete successes. To put it bluntly my old friend, he's stronger, faster and more resilient than any human alive. He'll be stronger than you ever were given time and training" Ozpin's tone had turned teasing over the last two sentences, knowing Galahad's pride wouldn't allow him to admit his own Son might surpass him.

I

"I don't know about that Ozzy, Jaune's an Arc, he'll be a legend in his own right. But better than me? I don't think so" Galahad finished only somewhat jokingly, he'd had a pretty impressive career in his own right. He wasn't exactly up there with Ozpin, Ironwood or Lionheart, but he'd been damned impressive in his time. On par with the fame of team STRQ from Beacon at the very least.

I

"Oh Really? Well in that case, the fact that his muscles are magnitudes stronger than an adult human, that his bones are magnitudes denser, that his senses are on par with a Faunus if not better, that his IQ is 135 at 10 years old and the fact that he can manipulate his body at will shouldn't bother you at all then, Right?" The monologue had started off innocently enough, but about the point Ozpin mentioned Faunus a hint of Smug had entered his voice, by the point he had mentioned Jaunes ability, his voice had become quite smug yet somehow deadpan.

I

The confused response he got back was "What do you mean by manipulate his body at will? Can't well all?" Ozpin sighed, of course that was what Galahad had gotten out of that little rant. Ozpin had to expand on it but didn't know how to explain this properly.

I

"Galahad, I don't understand the full range of this myself, but I'll explain it to the best of my knowledge. Until I'm finished, please don't interrupt. To begin, Jaune has an ability that allows him to change his bodies physical make up at will, think of it like being a shapeshifter and morphing between forms, But in addition to morphing between disguises he can also change things like his arms to form Swords or Claws, in fact one of his favourite forms is an insect-like carapace type of armour that can cover his entire body and proved resistant to anything but Dust or Elemental Attacks."

I

Galahad was trying to imagine it, but couldn't the very idea was just… preposterous but Ozpin wouldn't lie to him about this. That wasn't Ozpin's style, this was worrying, but it in a way it was also great. Before Jaune had been kidnapped, he'd always wanted to be a huntsman. To be the 'Hero' he always pictured his dad to be. It was one of his fondest memories, his little boy telling him that he wanted to be just like him when he grew up. He'd gotten Jaune a wooden sword and shield for his 6th birthday and started teaching him how to use it, his Wife, Helaine had rolled her eyes and indulged Galahad.

I

It was hard not to when she had 7 little girls who wanted to be like their mother. Just as he was thinking this, a pair of arms wrapped around him from behind and a head was placed on his shoulders, he sighed. Used to this sort of tactic by now, when they'd first been married she used to do this a lot and laugh at his reactions… after nearly 12 years he'd come to expect it. Galahad sighed and asked the question "How long have you been standing there?" Getting a small giggle in reply.

I

"Since you got out of bed, you big lug. I love a lot of things about you, but you're not very subtle Galahad. How are you Ozpin?" Helaine said as she kissed Galahad's neck.

I

"I'm quite alright Helaine, as you've no doubt heard, we found Jaune. We're currently running a few more medical tests to ensure he's perfectly healthy but you're perfectly welcome to wait on campus if you'd like. I've kept you long enough, Goodnight, Galahad, Helaine" Ozpin ended the call and sighed. Soon Jaune Arc would be back home and Galahad would begin training the young lad to become a huntsman.

I

It was unfair, he reflected to manipulate Jaune's father into training him as a huntsman… but Jaune had wanted to be one and in the end… Against _**Her**_ the power Jaune wielded would be necessary before the end. There may be no victory in strength, but strength could certainly alleviate losses.

I

In the end, it took nearly two weeks for all the medical exams to be complete as each new revelation brought up new problems and required deeper analysis. It was projected from the finalized exams that Jaune would become incredibly strong by the time he was an adult. He would eventually be able to pick up, lift and catch cars and trucks. His muscles were not enhanced in just Strength ether, He'd always be much faster than the average Human or Faunus, but a huntsman with a speed semblance or pumping enough Aura would be able to out speed him.

I

His bones would take an Incredible amount of force to break, not that they tried of course. But from examinations alone it would take an immense amount of force. He'd barely felt certain reaction speed tests at 10-year-old, they projected that each of these would increase until he reached his late thirties and from what they could tell wouldn't really diminish. He'd still age, and eventually expire but he wouldn't really get weaker with age. In a sense, Dr Merlot had created a species of human that once they hit their physical peak, would stay in that physical peak until the day they died.

I

His Senses were greatly enhanced, but only to the level of a faunus, they lacked the ridiculous increases Merlot had implemented in other enhancements. Ozpin hypothesized that it was because eventually such sensitive senses would overwhelm the individual, Faunus were already weakened greatly by the Standard Flashbangs/Concussion Grenades carried by the Valean Army. To increase the senses even further would be more Detrimental than beneficial.

I

Jaune's Aura reserves were truly monstrous, he had more Aura than a full huntsman at age 10, and the projections showed he'd only gain more as he grew. It had been activated but somehow Jaunes Ability eventually named 'Blacklight' due to the nature of the glow it seemed to give off when in certain circumstances would stop Jaune's Aura from functioning while in use and Vice Versa. Jaune could use his Aura for a while but would be unable to use his Blacklight abilities for the duration, and while using Blacklight he would be unable to use Aura.

I

They found out during this test, that Jaune also had a small regenerative effect when he wasn't using his Blacklight or Aura. Small Cuts would heal in 5-10 seconds, Deeper cuts could take anywhere from 30-60 seconds and more serious wounds would take _Hypothetically_ 10-60 minutes.

I

Jaunes Parents had come to see him 4 days after that phone call, and both had instantly swept him up in their arms. Without knowing it, they had disproved his worries and fears in a single instant, The Two adult Arcs hadn't left Jaunes side outside of him needing to go to the bathroom. Jaune and his parents were constantly talking over that two-week period, talking about anything and everything. After three years apart, none of them wanted to be separated and his Parents even slept in his hospital ward.

I

It wasn't long before Ozpin had the rest of the Arc Brood to meet their Brother and it was more akin to a stampede than a rush to touch, hug and talk to their brother. Though he considered them all his 'little sisters' in truth, Alex and Morgan were both older than him by a year though they were fairly short. Alex and Morgan had been the worst affected when he disappeared, they'd been in charge of looking after him and the rest of the kids when he'd been taken. His dad was off on a big hunter mission and his mother had had to visit another village for diplomatic talks.

I

Eventually, Jaune had been given a clean bill of health and had been discharged from Beacon's Infirmary. His sisters were still clingy of course, and they'd continue to be clingy for years to come, his parents had of course become determined, to keep an eye on all their children far more closely than they had. Galahad still went on Hunter Missions and Helaine still went travelling when necessary, but they co-ordinated their schedule so at least one of them was always with the children.

I

Jaune, couldn't help but enjoy the attention from his Sisters. It was proof every single day that he had been stupid to think that anyone would have forgotten him, that they'd have moved on. It was a balm on his soul, soothing the burns his fears had made. His Sisters were supportive in just about everything… except one. They didn't like the idea of him being a huntsman, He'd explained it as best he could. But to his little sisters all they really knew was that he'd be leaving at some point, his elder sisters were worried that he'd get hurt training to be a huntsman.

I

It didn't stop him from training, as much as it hurt him to upset his sisters with a body like his it would be a massive waste to do anything else. He'd wanted to be a huntsman since he was 4 years old, listening to his dads' stories about his team and how they were his best friends and he kept up with them to the day. Having Friends like that, a team like that and being the Hero, he'd always heard about and read about in the Arc Family Journals was what he wanted.

I

As he trained under his father, he swiftly came to realize that his father didn't train one slowly and methodically, he was the kind of teacher who would powerbomb you into the deep end and if you swam, great! If you sank well, you'd just have to learn to do better. Suffice to say, Galahad Arc was not a good teacher. A fantastic huntsman to be certain, a good leader? Damn straight, a fantastic tactical general? See above. A Teacher? No.

I-I-I-I-I-I

Jaunes first lesson went something a little like this;

I

Jaune stood across from his father in a small clearing, the grass was a vibrant green and sprinkled with morning dew, because it was _Six AM_ It was the latest part of Spring and heading into Summer, so it was fairly warm. Trees surrounded the clearing, unlike what he'd later learned was the 'Forever Fall' the trees around Kaer Maga were fairly normal.

I

Powerful and tall oak trees that were near ancient as they were easily approaching a third story building, rich and sturdy brown bark and vibrant foliage. "TRAINING STARTS NOW" Galahad roared suddenly, knocking Jaune out of his thoughts and subsequently across the entire clearing with a kick to the chest. As his body slammed upside down into the bark and he fell flat on his face with only the lightest of discomfort, he was more annoyed than anything. As he stumbled back to his feet and tried to set his father on fire with his glare, his father laughed deep.

I

"Boy, if you want to be a huntsman you _need_ to keep an eye on your surroundings and enemies. A Grimm won't wait for you to be ready to fight and in some cases, people won't either. So, you must always be ready. Now, come at me with everything you have, even the Blacklight" Galahad Ordered Sternly.

I

Jaune exploded towards his father, the ground cracking just a little from his leap, fist reared back and full intention to hurt in his eyes. Jaune watched in horror as his father simply, sidestepped his leap and kicked him in the back as he passed. The added propulsion sent him slamming into a tree on the opposite side of the clearing, this pattern repeated. This was going well. So, leaping at him like a berserker wasn't going to work…

I

As Jaune got back to his feet, he focused on what little instruction he'd been given by Merlot; Probe Defences, Analyse Weaknesses, Bait, Exploit. It was a simple mantra and it was the basics he'd been given because it would apply to many situations from commanding his own team, to individual fighting, to leading an army. As he stood, he decided to use the BlackLight, he'd always felt kind of bad for needing to rely on it, but against his father he'd need every advantage. He Formed the giant sword arm that he'd used to save himself and May, huh… he hadn't seen her again after being taken away by Ozpin. He'd been told that she had been reunited with her family. Shaking his head, he focused back on his arm… well, if he had a sword… he started willing his other arm to form a shield.

I

The look on his father's face would be one of Jaunes fondest memories for years to come as his sons arms suddenly morphed into a greatsword and shield combo and the young lad rushed him, coming at him quickly but not recklessly. Every thrust or slash being followed up with a vicious shield bash that was meant to pulp ribs. His father batted away every thrust, slash and shield bash but at least he had to respond, he couldn't rely on side-stepping, which was an improvement. Not to mention Galahad Arc was smiling.

I

It was after a particularly vicious slash that Galahad kicked out Jaunes legs from under him landing him flat on his back wondering why he was looking at the sky. "Better Boy! Better! Your Offense is fine, needs touch ups here and there, your stance needs to be a little lower to the ground, your legs need to be spread a tad more. You like to be on the offensive and that's fine, but don't over extend, it'll give your opponent things to exploit. If you hadn't over extended on that last slash I wouldn't have been able to trip you like that." Galahad smirked at Jaunes nod and reached over his shoulder, drinking in the look of stupefied horror as Galahad Arc drew **Durandal** from his back and held it in front of him in one hand. Durandal was an ancient Blade of the Arc Family, it was wielded by Charlemagne Arc. Durandal was a monster of a sword, befitting the man who weld it, a Greatsword class blade that was easily if his father was tall in its totality. The Blade alone was five and a half feet with another Two for the handle of the blade.

I

It was made of Dust-Infused steel, which at the time was a revolutionary blacksmithing technique that infused dust while the metal was being heated and banged into shape. It was a difficult and archaic practice, but it meant that Durandal didn't need dust to do any form of elemental damage, when the blade was infused with Aura it would catch alight and become a shining beacon to its allies. The flame would follow the blade when it swung, every swing sending flame rocketing into its target. A Mecha-shift weapon may be far more versatile, but few weapons infused as much terror as a 5 ½ foot flaming greatsword being swung at you. Jaune of course realising his father was going to swing that _Monstrosity_ at him decided that discretion was the better part of valour and formed his Carapace Armour, covering himself head-to-toe in the Blacklight armour. It would hopefully protect him. Hopefully.

I

"If you're done getting ready, _Let's work on your Defence, Son._ " The smirk that followed Galahad Arc's statement would have sent any lesser man running for the hills, it very nearly sent Jaune running for the hills. Galahad launched himself at Jaune bringing the blade above his head and down in an overhead chop, Jaune being inexperienced saw the incoming swing and raised his shield arm to block the blow. Mistake. The Force of the blow alone nearly sent Jaune to his knees, His father frowned and continued swinging. Jaune out of luck rather than desire managed to block quite a few of those overhead chops. Finally, what Galahad was waiting for happened. Jaune was a mite too slow to block the swing and instead ended up deflecting it to the side as the force of his shield slamming into the blade threw off Galahad's aim. As Galahad continued swinging he noticed that Jaune was gaining confidence and wasn't trying to take hits as much as he was trying to bat them to the side. Good. Let's see if he can keep up that speed, shall we?

I

Galahad upped his speed, Jaune may have advantages over other huntsmen-in-training but Galahad Arc was going to be dead and buried long before his son became lazy and rested on his laurels. Jaune Arc was going to be the best damn huntsman that Remnant had ever seen, and Galahad was going to be their pushing him to his very limits at every single turn. He would be the best or die trying, odds are the BlackLight would save him anyway. Galahad shook himself from that morbid thought as he kept throwing the same swing at Jaune until Jaune could block, dodge and parry it and then he would move to the next type of attack. Mixing up attacks, throwing feints, trying to trip him. Galahad started using any tactic to catch him off guard and then repeatedly used this tactic over and over again until Jaune could defeat it. Then he would go faster and faster until it became an all-out spar.

I

All of Jaune's training sessions were like this over his 7 year training, some used different weapons to get used to them, some even factored in guns and other ranged weapons. Debilitating agents on weapons. Galahad Arc ensured that Jaune Arc was prepared for nearly any situation that may befall the young lad. On the Studying side of things, Jaune was sadly…. Lacking. He wasn't unintelligent and thanks to his family he had a good grasp on the essentials, He could never really find the motivation to study hard for things. Things like Grimm Anatomy and History were great subjects, easily his favourite. Reading about his enemies to learn about how to fight them was incredibly interesting. For Example, the Deathstalker while incredibly powerful and very tough to kill wasn't that hard to defeat, The Deathstalker traded mental prowess for incredibly physical power. A common tactic was to trick the Deathstalker into stinging itself to peel off it's armour when the stinger retracted and then to focus fire that point until it died.

I

It also, like many Grimm had no armour on it's underbelly, if you could flip it onto its back you'd basically won the battle then and there! Of course, the trade off is that it was a powerful melee fighter. Its pincers had been known to crush Cars and Bullheads with ease, It's stinger on a direct hit could pierce straight Aura, flesh and bone. Its armour had been known to take Anti-Bullhead Rounds and the result had been a pissed off Deathstalker. History was also fascinating to the young Arc, where humanity came from and what they overcame was always interesting. Especially when there were Arcs involved as his family had been around for a very long time and were a long line of huntsmen. Unfortunately, outside of major incidences in human history he was sadly lacking, he couldn't tell you anything about the Schnee Family for instance or why the White Fang had become terrorists.

I

Hell, he didn't even know who that cute girl on the cereal he'd eaten for last 7 years was. It simply didn't _stick_ with the young blonde. Though not for lack of trying.

I-I-I-I-I-I

* * *

 **Welp, here is Chapter 2!**

 **I think it's about the same length as the first, though I tried to space it out better. Like I said at the top of the chapter, I'm taking things on board, so by all means offer critique and criticism.**

 **Chapter 2's Big Question! 'The Former Chapter (the first) more specifically, it's first scene was based loosely off of one of my favourite video games, Which Video Game Was It?' If anyone can send me a PM with the right answer, they can suggest something for the story, a plot line, a pairing, even a scene if It's interesting enough!**

 **So as always, cheers for reading and please review!**


	3. Arrival

**Right! So, I'm still trying to get a good balance between line breaks and keeping things from being too text wall-ish. Looking back on the last chapter while the Linebreaks were necessary they were too often used so it looked somewhat tacky, at least in my opinion.**

 **Never-Enough7407;** **I appreciate the 'show-don't-tell' method, But the scene wasn't supposed to be bragging about Jaune, it was to try and show just how far Merlot is willing to go, how depraved he's become. Furthermore, I'd never intended to make many Evolved I've got a solid 1 confirmed and one half-n-half between making them an Evolved or a Heller-esque character.**

 **II**

 **X3runner; I'm not actually familiar with Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, I've heard from my nerd friends that it's okay, but Its never been my cup of tea. Your second point is blatant spoilers D:. Your third comment should be answered this chapter :3**

 **II**

 **Xealchim; While Arkos may be my favourite ship, it is** _ **Not**_ **the only one I enjoy. I'm not dedicated to a single ship yet, because to put it simply, I've got more ideas for ships than I have time to write and I end up exploring those mentally and have most of them crash and burn due to certain changes. That being said, If you stick to one ship in your writing, there's only so many times you can write 'Jaune Kisses Pyrrha' before it gets dull and repetitive.**

 **II**

' **Leader'; Were I to even *consider* introducing an OC (which I'm vehemently against on principle) I'd need a full comprehensive breakdown of just about everything about said character. Their Appearance, Goals, Motivations, Limitations, Strengths, Weaknesses and Lines they *wont* cross regardless of advantage. Telling me to go look at another fanfiction's reviews for a description of this OC is simply not going to happen. As well written as Jaune Ryu-Long is (I have read it, I believe it's still in my favourites) The Fic lost me fairly quickly at the climax of 'cannon' volume 3. Cinder being defeated and summoning an actual dragon wasn't the problem. It was the addition of mindless, fodder OC's to throw at the protagonist in a 'He may be super powered Buuuuuut these guys aren't affected by them' sense. Instead of making the Cannon characters** _ **Evolve**_ **and grow, the author threw an army at 'Jaune Ryu-Long' in a seeming cop-out. Your point of having your OC be the progenitor of the BlackLight was equally baffling as it was annoying. Were I to implement a character like that, I'd just be using the plot of Prototype 2 and might as well use Alex Mercer in that role.**

 **II**

 **So, the ending of Chapter 2's Challenge, the answer was 'Mass Effect 2'. In which Commander Shepard wakes up during a violent attack on the space station that he resides in.** **Damn, writing this chapter was surprisingly difficult. I didn't want to vomit the cannon verbatim but at the same time I didn't want to make something too outlandish.**

II-II-II-II-II-II

Beacon Academy.

 _The Premier Academy in Remnant_. A School that usually puts out legends on a generational basis and Jaune Arc had gotten his wish, He was going to be a Huntsman. One of the best huntsmen in his generation if he had anything to say about it. The Rocking of the Bullhead sent a momentary rush of queasiness through his body that had his entire body stiffening up for a moment. It passed as the Bullhead took off, heading to Beacon's campus. Looking around he saw quite a colourful cast of people but none he recognized. A Shame. He was sat on a bench leaning against the wall of the bullhead, just waiting. Thinking back on his Sisters, they weren't pleased that he was leaving and had monopolized his attention for the month before today. If he was brave he'd say the only reason they'd let him go was because he'd been around for the last seven years. He couldn't help but smile fondly as he opened his scroll, seeing his entire family in one big background photo.

He'd gotten a ping, he opened it immediately, curious as to see what May wanted. The pair had become something akin to pen-pals after escaping Merlots laboratory, it had taken a while to get contact information and such, but they'd managed and Jaune managed to get some small measure of his outgoing personality back. This, unbeknownst to Jaune was recommended by Beacon's resident Psychologist to keep the two from become isolated or anti-social in the future.

II

' _Crosshairs:_ _U finally hitting Beacon then Jaune?_ '

' _BlackKnight: Of Course, I can't wait! Being a Hunter is what I've always dreamed of being!'_

' _Crosshairs: I wonder who'll be on Ur team… I hear that little Schnee girl made waves when she enrolled'_

' _BlackKnight: Wait… Team?'_

' _Crosshairs: Of Course! Ur Still in training! They're gunna team you up with others and stuff to make sure that you'll have support and stuff if you need it. Also Safety I guess. Ugh, My Partners such a slob T.T'_

' _BlackKnight: Well, I guess I could play off BlackLight as a Semblance… I didn't plan for this!'_

' _Crosshairs: Yeaaaaaaah, you probably should have focused on what was actually going to happen rather than those boring adventures huh? ;D. Anyways, gotta go my teams gunna be late!'_

II

Jaune sighed into his hand as he pinched the bridge of his nose, He wasn't ready for this! He thought he'd have years before being thrown into a squad and he'd have to show off the BlackLight. He tried to drag his thoughts off his imminent team. He looked around to distract himself and was quickly able to find a distraction! Great success! Said distraction was a 6ft brown short haired teen play fighting with 3 others… though he supposed judging by the techniques used it was more play wrestling. He watched the quartet wrestling and it seemed to be all in good fun, they'd clearly been friends before getting into Beacon. He learned after a particularly loud slam that the big one was called 'Cardin' as he'd knocked one of his friends into and consequently over the trash can. Loud wasn't always bad he supposed, on the surface they seemed fun.

His thoughts were effectively stolen as he saw a girl clad in pink and white with orange hair started zipping around a young well-kept teen clad in green with black hair. 'Zipping' because that was the only word to describe it, it was hardly regular movement, the orange haired girl was spewing what was roughly a million questions a minute, flowing to different questions without waiting for an answer… she was interesting to say the least. Through her endless questions he'd learned that the young green clad teen was named 'Ren' and via his own response that the Pink clad girl was named 'Nora'.

His thoughts were cut off as a news report caught his attention, talking about Roman Torchwick's latest crime. Jaune wasn't exactly…familiar with Vales Most Wanted, but he didn't really have to be. Torchwick was pretty well known even outside of Vale. Apparently, the robbery was foiled by a Huntress who happened to be in the neighbourhood, well hopefully it'd set the criminal back for a bit. Unfortunately, that was unlikely though. Criminals like him were like cockroaches, they were hard to stomp out completely. Jaune shook himself from that rather macabre thought as the news flicked back to one 'Lisa Lavender' who was talking about the White Fang. They were now disrupting Faunus Civil Rights protests… He could understand many things, Frustration, Anger, Deep down he could even understand their hatred. But they were only damaging the cause they sought to further.

II

A quick look over to a hologram showed an Image of Miss Goodwitch who he had had minimal interaction with back when they'd landed. The hologram was effectively introducing Glynda and ensuring that the attendees knew exactly what the stakes were at Beacon and the behaviour required. Narrowly avoiding the stampede as people flooded to the windows now that Beacon was insight… Jaune could only roll his eyes.

"Not Impressed?" A voice broke him from his thoughts, it was right next to him and he hadn't noticed, that was sloppy. As he turned to the speaker he saw a girl clad in black and white thoroughly engrossed in her book… Still, something was off with her. She'd managed to get right next to him without his notice, that… didn't happen. He could feel the smirk as she noticed his reaction, those Amber eyes flicking up to his for a moment before going back to her book.

"Not exactly, we're going to be living there for 4 years, It's a just a couple buildings" Jaune responded, rolling his shoulders in a shrug as he responded, missing the girls contemplative face. As he looked over the girl, he obvious physical appearance besides, she definitely seemed like a fighter who relied more on Finesse than brute force, a scalpel rather than a hammer… Although he did wonder about her weapon, Hunter weapons could be quite literally anything and anything else and it seemed the combinations never ended.

"Rather Grandiose though" The Girl replied, eyeing him over her book. He sword he'd recognized the title somewhere though, Ninja's of Love… He'd definitely heard of it. "Blake Belladonna" the girl tacked on at the end in a somewhat matter-of-fact way.

"Jaune Arc. Short, Sweet, rolls of the tongue, Ladies love it" Jaune replied unable to prevent his dad's usual introduction from rolling off his tongue. Pair that with a genuine smile and he could usually get a good reaction.

"Do They?" Blake replied as the corner of her mouth twitching up ever so slightly as she watched his reaction, Amber eyes flicking to him as she waited for a reaction.

Jaune naturally being a dramatic person didn't disappoint "Oh how you have wounded this poor knight's fragile masculinity, fair maiden" His voice naturally shifting to 'Ye Olde Valean', leaning back against the bullhead and placing the back of his palm on his forehead as if he were going to faint.

The quiet giggling was quiet enough that he nearly missed it, but he caught it. Shoulder's shaking and the ever so light dusting of pink across Blake's face combined with an actual smile, small but still there, was certainly a nice confidence booster for the young prototype.

As the bullhead landed and the crowd started to exit, Jaune waited. He hated being packed in a crowd, With the Blacklight his senses were enhanced, particularly smell and hearing were the stickler for crowds. Smelling over a dozen people at once was nauseating, hearing them might as well have turned you deaf for all the good it'd do.

II-II-II-II-II-II

Jaune was just walking down the ramp of the bullhead and took a single step onto the campus of Beacon when an explosion detonated encompassing a Red and Black clad young girl who seemed a lot younger than 17 and a White Clad girl who he'd bet all the Lien he'd saved up that was 'Schnee' that Crosshairs had mentioned. Jaune sighed as he approached, At least he should check if they were alright, that's what heroes did, after all.

II

"Unbelievable! This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about!" 'Schnee' exclaimed, thoroughly enraged if Jaune had to guess, although it could just be what she was like. Atlesians were pretty… uptight from what he'd heard. As Jaune got closer he saw the little red girl about to open her mouth and was willing her to say something in retaliation…a stuttering apology wasn't what he was hoping for.

"I'm really, really sorry!" the girl seemed like she was going to die of embarrassment and legitimately seemed apologetic for what she'd _Apparently_ done. Idly Jaune caught his new friend? Blake walking over, a book in one hand and a vial of dust in the other, impressive footwork for someone who wasn't looking where they were going. Of Course, his analysis was cut short as 'Schnee' opened up her mouth and firmly inserted her own foot.

'Ugh! You complete dolt! What are you even _Doing_ here!? Aren't you a little young to be attending beacon?" _Wow_ it took some serious experience to pack that much condescension and contempt into that sentence. His impression of 'Schnee' was dropping by the word and was in serious danger of flatlining. He nearly missed little red's stuttering reply.

"Well, I-I…" Little red looked like she wanted the world to open up and swallow her whole, He was somewhat annoyed now. They were here to fight Grimm and save people and she was putting on this dramatic and unnecessary bitch fit because of Dust. She'd never survive in the wilds, hell she might not survive Beacon. The Schnee Bulldozer continued, ramming as much of her foreleg into her own mouth as possible.

"This isn't your ordinary combat school. It's not just sparring and practice, you know! We're here to fight _Monsters_ so… watch where you're going!" Schnee finally finished her little tirade, expecting and waiting for another snivelling apology from little red no doubt. Jaune and the monochrome girl were approaching at roughly the same time, Now Jaune was no expert on the modern woman, but he could almost taste the girls dislike of Schnee. It was at this point that Little Red piped up, finally having enough of the Schnee's attitude.

"Hey, I said I was sorry, Princess!" Little Red seemed frustrated, Rightly so in Jaunes personal opinion. Schnee was being unreasonably in this instance and if _that_ was how she acted after a minor accident, she wasn't going to get many friends. He and Blake had reached their destination, they were certainly enough to Interject.

"It's heiress, actually" Blake said "Weiss Schnee, Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, one of the largest producers of energy propellent in the world" Blake said without nary a missed beat. Jaune didn't know if that was verbatim but it seemed that way, Blake definitely had brains and Jaune could shamelessly admit she was quite the looker. Schnee seemed smug as Blake finished up, no doubt thinking the pair of newcomers were sycophants.

"Finally! Some Recognition!" Schnee's face blossomed quite nicely into a smug smirk that was so delectably punchable. Jaune was about to interject himself into the conversation, but his new friend wasn't done yet.

"The same company infamous for its controversial labour forces and questionable business partners" Blake said still in that rather matter-of-fact tone. As if it weren't an opinion, simply a fact. Little Red couldn't quite withhold the giggle as Schnee spluttered. Jaune couldn't help but twist the knife just a little deeper though.

"If her Father acts like she just did, I wouldn't be entirely surprised to be honest" In an off-hand tone to Blake. Said girl's eyebrow raised rather delicately as she for the first time since they'd met moved the book and gave Jaune her full attention. Little Red didn't seem quite so onboard with the trail of the conversation and Schnee was about go off like thermonuclear bomb.

"Wha- How dare you! I will not stand for a country bumpkin like you to insult my manners!" In the background, Schnee's servants were gathering her many belongings and placing them back on the rather gaudy rack she'd brought. Blake and Little Red were waiting for his response, naturally he gave one.

"Then sit, if it pleases you princess. Not only have you proved my point, your initial reaction to an accident wasn't checking no one was hurt, It was to degrade and attack another student verbally. When said student tried to apologise to you, you continued your diatribe and ran roughshod over any attempts at an apology." Jaune's rather bored face throughout his own little speech was making Schnee go a rather beautiful shade of red and he was ninety percent sure it wasn't from embarrassment. Little Red and Blakes giggling only added fuel to the metaphorical dust fire.

Schnee's very mature and responsible reaction, was to snatch the vial of dust from Blake, glare at the three of them venomously and storm off in a huff. Little Red was still trying to apologize regardless "I promise I'll make this up to you!" she sighed and turned to the two…one other person still with her, as Blake had walked away.

"Hey, I'm Jaune Arc! Short, sweet, rolls of the tongue, ladies love it" unable to avoid using that silly phrase again caused him near physical pain, at least he finished off the cheesy line with a smile. He was rewarded by Little Red blushing ever so slightly as she replied.

"I'm Ruby Rose!" She stated quite proudly, before filling a not-really-awkward silence by announcing 'I've got this thing!" and whipping out quite the monster of a scythe, taller than she was and a blade nearly as long with clear mechashift capabilities. Jaune would bet a lot of money it had some form of gun attached, his fellow teens seemed to go nuts about shoving either guns and/or dust into their weapons these days.

"It's certainly a beauty for sure, the craftmanship is stunning. Dust or Bullets?" Jaune asked getting very into Ruby's scythe. It was deadly and in any other hand he'd probably be laughing at someone for using such an impractical weapon… but for some reason it just fit with Ruby Rose.

"Bullets! It's also a gun!" smiling and cocking the weapon, blush still present due to him complimenting her baby. "So what've you got? I bet it's really cool!" Ruby gushed, In her own little world as she imagined what kind of weapon someone with Jaune's body type could use. Of course, her thought track was something along the lines of "He looks like a strength type! That means something heavy and smashy! But what calibre would he use in his weapon?" Thoughts popping into her head and being discarded faster than she could make sense of them.

"Ahem, It's an old family heirloom. Crocea Mors, it's fairly basic for now, but It's an ancient rite of passage for my family to build on the weapons our ancestors left behind. In a way I'm honoured they trusted me with Crocea Mors." Jaune replied, drawing his sword and shield, a somewhat plain Longsword and Kite shield but the craftsmanship was excellent, the pair had been very well maintained.

"Rite of Passage? What do you mean?" Ruby said, collapsing her very large scythe and placing the mechashifted weapon back on her…back. Her head was tilted in confusion, and for some reason Jaune couldn't place he was reminded of a puppy.

"In my family, when a child becomes a hunter they are supposed to build on the work their ancestors. Keeping the same values, the previous wielders had and infusing their own into the weapon they were given. Crocea Mors hasn't been given out since its original wielder my great-great grandfather used in the Faunus Wars." Jaune admitted somewhat sheepishly, He could forge an Iron Dagger and that was about it, he wasn't looking forward to learning how to Re-forge, Dust-Forge and integrate mechashift technology onto the blade of Crocea Mors, The shield was easier to improve upon but It would still be a challenge.

II-II-II-II-II-II

" **YOU FAILED!** " the voice alone carried enough force to shake the room they were in. Standing alone in what was essentially a throne room, was a woman garbed in black with incredibly pale skin and burning crimson eyes. Clearly something unnatural afflicted her as the sclera of each eye was black as pitch and numerous veins throughout her body stood out as black against her skin. The woman was furious, incensed even as she glared down at the battered broken form before her. She had given this subordinate one mission, and she had not only failed but allowed her target to get near-permanently out of her mistresses reach. " **What could have possibly prevented you from succeeding!?** "

"M-Mistress, the Maiden was stronger than reports indicated, her abilities tore through my augmentations as if I were normal person, they seemed to bypass my aura in it's entirety" The broken form spoke, head bowed in submission. The younger woman was on all fours covered in bruises, burns and lacerations. Amber eyes filled with pain, sorrow and fear, long raven hair that had been badly burned and was going to require extensive repair.

" **Bypass your aura? To cut through your very** _ **soul**_ **what are you playing at Ozpin!?"** The older woman snarled, Ozpin was _Supposedly_ weakening, yet his maidens could cut through an individual's very soul!? That was a power even she, Salem, Queen of the Grimm and Inheritor of the Younger Brother's Will hadn't been able to do. " **Regardless, you are our Fallen Maiden Cinder or you will soon be. You should have defeated that little girl with ease, you were trained by Tyrian and Hazel, they spared no expense on bringing you up to speed. If your Augments failed, you should have** _ **adapted**_ **to the situation…. I will give you one chance to redeem yourself Cinder. You will leave for Vale immediately, learn the whereabouts of the Maiden and you** _ **Will**_ **claim her power for your own. Do you understand me?** "

"Y-Yes Mistress" Cinder spoke, body wracked with pain and crippled by overwhelming fear of the figure before her. "I may need to recruit others to Ass-" Cinder added before being cut off.

" **Recruit whomever you need or desire, but you** _ **will**_ **claim the Maiden's power."** Salem spoke in a tone somewhat akin to a death knell. The implication was clear, Cinder would claim the Maidens power, or she would _die_ _trying._

II-II-II-II-II-II

Cinder exited the luxurious throne room and started her broken hobble back to 'her' room. Her thoughts were of course on her botched mission, how could they not be? She had been arrogant, and it had cost her and by extension, Salem dearly. She had believed that with the power of her Augments and the training that had been beaten into her, literally, that she could handle a Maiden by herself. She hadn't even tried to ambush the Fall Maiden, she'd charged straight at her like a bull with her flesh warping into cruel and vicious claws and the fight… went poorly.

 **(AN: It's time for one of the cruellest sins in writing, Flashbacks. I'm so sorry.)**

Cinder had been chasing the 'Fall Maiden' for months now, but she was catching up and the sheer anticipation sent rivers of adrenaline racing through her body. The predator and her prey were racing through an otherwise quite lovely forest, rich brown trees with vibrant green leaves a nice earthy scent blanketed the forest. Legs pumping, Cinder knew that she was gaining, and the anticipation only sent her running faster.

The maiden was fleeing on horseback, she lacked Cinder's augments and couldn't match the speeds Cinder ran at it because of it. Fortunately, Cinder had endurance and speed in spades and was gaining, not needing to sleep or rest as much as her prey did. She saw her prey! Standing on a dirt road facing towards the predator, a desperate final stand? HAH! She was handing Cinder the Maidens powers! Cinder exploded out of the forest in a single bound and launched herself at the Maiden, 'Amber' apparently.

The Maiden certainly didn't _Look_ all that impressive, Brown hair, Brown eyes, brown skin… she had since abandoned her green travelling cloak and now stood there wearing a white blouse, brown vest, corset and pants on her arms where a trio of golden bands, one forming a bracer and the other two forming bracelets, a golden pair of armoured boots and a pauldron on her right shoulder completed the look.

Cinder wasn't particularly interested in what the Maiden looked like, she had been given a mission and she had no choice but to fulfil it, the fact that she got a near godly level of power out of the deal was merely icing on the cake.

They clashed, Cinder's claws slamming into Amber's staff. The dual ended gems glowing brightly and sparks flying from the friction, Surprised that the staff could withstand her claws, Cinder started picking apart the Maiden's defences, slashing viciously and relentlessly but finding nothing. Every claw swipe was blocked by that staff, Amber's face stretched into a smirk as she took an opening in Cinder's defences and slammed the white gem of the staff into Cinders gut. For a moment nothing happened and as Cinder was about to lash out a near hurricane force wind launched Cinder backwards off her feet.

Cinder sprang back onto her feet quickly and noticed that Amber's eyes were glowing, a sure sign of those powers manifesting. Cinder sprang forward again, lashing out as fast and precisely as she could, pushing aside her aggression and anticipation. It was making her sloppy. For all the good it did, they were at a dead lock regardless of how Cinder manipulated her abilities, She simply couldn't hit hard enough or fast enough to penetrate Ambers defences… and Amber? She knew it. She was toying with Cinder.

It was almost lazy the way the maiden raised her had and blasted Cinder with a lightning bolt launching her backwards again into one of the trees she had passed exiting the forest. Not letting up for even a moment, Amber amped up the lightning burning Cinder. Cinder's pride couldn't hold in the screams of agony as she was electrocuted, her flesh burning and spasming as the energy dissipated after what felt like an eternity.

In Reality it had been 5 seconds, Still Cinder rose and launched herself into the fray. She wasn't going to defeat this Maiden by overpowering her. She needed to play dirty, so she bit her tongue hard enough to draw blood and let it slowly pool in her mouth, taking ragged breaths through her nose. Finally, the Maiden made a mistake, she had, in quite an acrobatic manoeuvre, delivered series of rapid blows, each blow was thrown to unbalance her opponent, to force poor positioning and balance. As Amber spun in a pirouette, Cinder mentally crowed in victory as she waited until Ambers face swung back around.

A Cobra would envious of the perfect shot that Cinder fired from her mouth, splattering her opponents face and more importantly, her eyes in the thick viscous substance. As Amber swung sloppily with her staff attempting to hit Cinder in the skull, Cinder ducked under the sloppy swing and with near manic glee raked her claws up across Ambers torso, tearing through aura, clothing and flesh with little trouble.

That was the problem with aura you see, you had to know where the attack was coming form, true one could simply believe they were under attack from the 'front' and their aura would naturally thicken in front of them, shielding them mostly if not completely.

Before Cinder could gloat or cackle, or anything really… the area all around Amber exploded in a hurricane of flame surrounding and shielding Amber. Cinder had no choice but to leap backwards or be burned to ash. Aura may defend her, but the Maidens powers were not to be trifled with. Through the curtain of flames Cinder had lost sight of her target. Taking the slight reprieve for what it was, Cinder looked herself over and found not much out of place, she'd taken a nasty shot to the skull that had left a rather bad cut on her cheek, half a dozen nasty bruises on her arms and another seven on her torso. She'd be sore after this, but she'd be alive… which was something Cinder couldn't say for 'Amber'.

Stupid harlot, given godly power and how had she used it? Like a child realising they had a semblance for the first time! Over whelming power and no control, powerful the maidens may be, they required finesse to be truly monstrous. Imagine if the hurricane of flame that surrounded Amber now could avoid allies and only harm enemies? Imagine if each lightning bolt could chain to those close by? But no. This 'Maiden' was using it in something similar to a 'Scorched Earth' policy… it was disgraceful really.

The Hurricane of flame suddenly warped and flowed toward Cinder in a wave. Having no choice but take the attack head on, Cinder braced herself. The pain was incredible. It was like having every cell in her body flash fried, ripped apart and then the entire process reversed itself. As the fire flickered out, Amber no longer sustaining it, Cinder could see Amber again, grudgingly Cinder could admit she hadn't expected this…

Amber had used the flame around her to cauterize her wounds and had cleaned her face. Said face was twisted into a rictus of fury, as she floated off of the ground. The world seemed to shift as Lightning boomed overhead and the clouds that hadn't been there before started to weep, great torrents of water flowing down from the heavens like a monsoon.

Not Feeling up to getting struck by lightning a second time, Cinder flung herself to the side as a lightning bolt slammed down into the dirt where she stood, Cinders only warning being the heavy smell of ozone. Cinder rushed forward dodging the bolts that followed, had it only been the Lightning… she may have been able to attack.

Amber wasn't content just to bend lightning to her whim, Wind tore at her clothing, pushing and pulling Cinder trying to unbalance her. The water around her froze to Ice to trip her, the mud she stood upon became hands, pulling her down to try and drown her in earth. Cinder was fighting Remnant itself… and Remnant was winning.

Cinder, despite everything she had going for her… simply couldn't keep this up, it was one thing to fight an opponent of your skill. It was another thing entirely to face that opponent being fuelled by the power of a god with the world itself attempting to kill you. Still, Cinder wasn't going to give up here. She may not be able to defeat Amber here, as painful as it was to admit that, she'd be damned if Amber continued to grow in power… Cinder needed to cripple Amber… but how to goad her into it?

Amber oblivious to Cinder's plotting charged at Cinder, flying through the sky glowing with an ethereal light like a grossly incandescent meteor. The speed and sheer power behind the attack was staggering, how could it not be? Cinder had no choice but to fling herself to the side, not simply side stepping but actually launching herself a good fifteen feet to the side.

Many minds would be forgiven for missing it, but Cinder saw that the attack that Amber had just used while certainly crippling to hit by, even for Cinder… was very difficult to stop or turn and Cinder would be her life that Amber developed tunnel vision while using it… that was an idea.

Cinder smirked as she dodged, keeping that smirk plastered on her face as she kept dodging, never retaliating and making each dodge look graceful and more importantly _Effortless_. This would ignite the Maidens fury and force to her up the power of the attacks she was using, distantly she heard a crow's cry as she saw the exact moment Ambers control on her temper broke.

The glow around Amber exploded angrily taking a consistency and look like fire, raging around the maiden and lightning crackling through out as she charged, a lot faster that she had prior. Cinder warped her arms, increasing the muscle mass and density tremendously. Her hands once, quite slim and graceful became black and thick, easily bloating to near double the average humans' hand in both size and thickness.

Amber, so consumed by her rage didn't care, confident that her powers and aura would save her from any damage. So what if this cretin had warped her body? She'd be dead before the girl could do anything with those thick meaty hands. Unfortunately for Amber, Pride cometh before a fall. As she flew towards the cretin, intent on doing enough blunt force trauma across the girl's body to destroy the lungs, heart and just about every rib, she watched in horror as the cretin jumped aside. She was going too fast to stop…

Cinder snarled viciously in victory as she raised her arms up above her head and clasped one of her fists in the other. As Amber passed by, Cinder brought down her warped arms with all the enhanced strength she could muster. A perfect hammer blow delivered right at the centre point of Ambers spine. The Snap and inward bend of Amber's body as her power faded was a memory that Cinder Fall would never ever forget. The boneless near-flop as Amber's body hit the ground and sliding through the mud, the poor maiden in too much pain to even scream as every instinct she had told her to move her lower body.

Cinder however… wasn't in a merciful mood, her hair was badly burned, she had been beaten, bruised and battered and her clothing was in tatters, all of which was amplified by the fact she was drenched to the bone and spattered with mud and would almost certainly need a haircut. She flipped Amber onto her back carelessly as the Maiden writhed in pain…

There were so many things Cinder _wanted_ to do to the Maiden… but what was the point? Being cruel here got her nothing and accomplished nothing. But looking down at the crushed, defeated, crippled maiden who was wearing her fear and pain clear on her face… any cruel intentions she may have had died an early death.

Cinder sighed, crouching down and moving Ambers hair out of her face… if Amber had to die… the least Cinder could do was explain _Why_ it had to be that way.

"W-Why are you doing this?" Amber spoken quietly, sounding broken and afraid… But in Cinders mind flashed back to a white room, a gurney and the chafing of leather straps as a madman butchered her younger form, all the while a woman's cruel laughter rang in her ears.

"Because… I… am a Coward." The word left a bad taste in Cinder's mouth, but it was the truth. She wasn't brave or courageous enough to flee from Salem, certainly not suicidal enough to try and fight her way out. "If I don't do this… I will suffer a fate _**far**_ worse than death. I don't have a choice in this."

Amber's eyes widened in surprise as she registered the meaning, her assailant wasn't here out of choice? But wait… Those powers… Ozpin had mentioned something similar to these before… The Arc boy? Her memories were hazy as a result of her pain… She could only sigh as she passed out.

Cinder looked at the fallen woman… it would be so easy to kill her now; a quick strike and she'd be dead… probably wouldn't even feel it. Right? Right!? She couldn't do it. Cinder sighed and waited. She was going to wait for the Maidens powers, she had stolen this girl's life and future… let the maiden pass on her own time.

She was disgusted with herself, she came to realize… she'd wanted power, sure. But this wasn't something she'd expected, the fear… the pain the agony her victims would experience at her hand. It was one thing to desire power deep enough that you'd _think_ you'd kill for it. It was another to _experience_ killing for it. The emotions of your victim laid bare, the accusatory stare in their eyes as they experience pain and suffering because of you. She was so weak.

"Well, Ain't that pathetic?" An older male voice spoke, Cinder's head snapping to the older man who'd entered the clearing. Short black hair, red eyes… the smell of cheap alcohol and a long-tailed dress shirt with black pants… Qrow Branwen. Ozpin's eyes in the world. "You go through all this effort and you don't have the balls to look her in the eyes as you kill her… It'd be funny if it weren't so _Infuriating_ " Qrow finished, his voice getting darker at the end. His hand going back behind him and drawing a massive blade.

Cinder didn't bother to respond, she just ran. Not at Branwen, Oum no. Just away, back down the route she'd been chasing Amber down, She wouldn't have attempted to fight Qrow Branwen had she been at her best. He was so far beyond her right now it wasn't funny. Qrow Branwen was to Ozpin what Tyrian Callows was to Salem. They were both Butchers, one just butchered the 'bad guys' and thus was given free reign.

II-II-II-II-II-II

Cinder shook her head away from those thoughts.

She needed to recover and figure out a way to escape her 'mistresses' clutches. She'd seen what would happen if she failed to get the Maiden's powers. If Cinder couldn't be used to gain access to the 'vaults' beneath each school, then she would be converted into a 'Breeder' and would birth an 'enhanced' army for her Mistresses further use once Cinder passed. After all, Salem was a goddess, silly things like the passing of time had little to no relevance in her plans. She needed a way out. Soon.

II-II-II-II-II-II

 **Welp. That not only went longer than I wanted, It also took a lot longer than I wanted and Despite using the transcript word-for-word I still think like I wrote Weiss shittily. I think that's my inner weeb talking, I'm a sucker for Tsunderes.**

 **Anyways! This chapter's little trivia is a bit more open ended, this is a chance for anyone who reads to have an impact on this Fic (provided I like the idea enough). In the Popular-Ish series 'Mass Effect' I want to know who your favourite companion is and most importantly, WHY! I love all 4 of the mass effect games. (Yes even Andromeda, finally a female Turian! And Papa Drak! How could you turn down your crazy gun toting Krogan uncle!) Naturally I'm quite the opinionated git and I'd love to hear some of the reasons** _ **You**_ **fell in love with our various crew members. Well besides a certain turian and his god damn calibrations. (Note: If you wanna rant about how amazing Garrus is, go for it.)**

 **Anyone who responds I'd recommend PM'ing me to ensure that I receive your idea. It doesn't have to be a Ship or a plot point, it could even be a silly fluffy scene (I'm a sucker for them).**

 **Anyways! As always, Read, Review and tell me what I did wrong!**

 **Cheers!**

 **Syndragosa**


	4. Re-Write Announcement

**Update!**

 **So as many of you may have guessed, Im going to be dumping this story and re-writing it. As I scan through my own work, I find myself either cringing or pointing out flaws that cause me to loose any muse I obtain.**

 **Case in Point; The intro chapter to this fanfiction may as well have been ripped from a video game and I introduce a character, that in all honesty I probably won't bring up for another 30-40 chapters. (that being around the Vytal Tournament)**

 **Furthermore; The Fic's base component, that being "lets add blacklight to Jaune and see what happens" seems a tad… Boring? I'm not talking in scope of powers (that he'll eventually get to) but more in personality. I've recently watched the "Venom" movie and the relationship between Eddie Brock and Venom changed what (in my mind) was an awful, terrible, shoe-horned in villain to an actual comic book protagonist that I rooted for and cheered for.**

 **So in essence, I hope to have the first chapter out by January 31** **st** **. At which point, you'll get an update probably in march because I'll be throwing a million hours into KH3.**

 **Sorry to those who didn't mind the Fic as it stands, I just couldn't look at it with any sort of pride or accomplishment. I'll also be going hilariously off rails at points with the plot (including the intro to the new fic) because most readers already know what's going to happen in the plot. If I keep the plot the same, how does the Pairing happen if its not Arkos? If I keep the plot the same, How do I introduce certain set-pieces etc.?**

 **Im currently thinking a Polyamorous relationship with two partners for Jaune, I could never break up Team Sloth (I'm far too weak an individual). Yang is pretty much Bumblebee or Baked Alaska, which in turn means Blake is Either Bumblebee or Blacksun, Weiss… I don't like Weiss. But she'll probably end up with Neptune.**

 **If you guys have suggestions on how I can improve anything, PLEASE leave a review, I'll be checking periodically throughout the month to see if I can fix or make my writing better.**

 **Cheers!**

 **Syndragosa**


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